Toothpick dispenser



Nov'. s, 1927.

M. V. DERRICK TOOTHPICK DISPENSER Filed Sept. 9. 1925 ,gianna 4&6. Mz?

Patented Nov. a, 1927.

y UNITED STATESv MARK v. DERRICK, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA TOOTHPICKDISPENSER.

-Applcation filed September 9,1925. Serial No. 55,373.

,allow the toothpicks to be removed by taking hold of them at the middleor at theL end, and conveniently and without wasteseparating them eitherone 'at a time or in a bundle or bunch lby means fof the fingers of the"intending user.

It is desirable that the toothpicks be protected from dust and otherimpurities in the air and it is also desirable to prevent intendingusers from taking a quantity of toothpicks in excess of those intendedfor immediate use.

In restaurants, hotels, lunch counters, and other public eating placeswhere toothpicks are made immediately available to the public,considerable loss to the proprietor of such places arises from thecustomers taking considerable bunches of toothpicks, and an object ofthis invention is to prevent such losses.

I have discovered that toothpicks can be served in a satisfactoryAinanner by loosely confining a bundle of toothpicks, giving themasemi-rotative impulse endwise of the bundle and intercepting themajority of they toothpicks in the bundle while allowing othertoothpicks to be projected endwise from the bundle 4inseparatedpositions; and by this method I kam able to project one or moretoothpicks in. individual positions where they can be grasped by thefingers and drawn vout of the bundle, individually without handling anyof the remaining toothpicks.

The most satisfactory means I have devised for practicing this novelmethod and effecting the desired result consists in a container having adiameter less than the length of the conventional wooden toothpick, anda height slightly greater than the length of such toothpick; and thecontainer is provided with a flat head having round perforationstherethrough, each of which perforations is of suiicient diameter toallow a toothpick to be drawn therethrough; and preferably the wallsA ofthe container are of transparent material through which the toothpicksmay be seen, and the container is of such diameter .that a toothpickvcontained therein will beheld alsant when the Vcontainer is upright. i

The container may be of any desired crossy sectional forin, but atpresent, I deem acircular cross section to be preferable and the opentop is substantially of the same internal diameter as the body, theinternal wall of the neck portion being relatively Vstraight andpreferably the body is contracted at the middle to cause the loosebundle of toothpicks therein to spread out at topl andlbottorn andassume '-a more or less spirali arrangement when the container isupright; and in 11pright position of thefcontainer, thetooth'- pickswill be on end either aslant or upright rand will have a general axialextension .to-

ward the head and bottom` ofthe container. Such middle contraction mayValso afford a convenient hand-hold forthe dispenser.

An advantage of this toothpick dispenserv is that the user has thesatisfactory assur ance that the toothpick he selects is free fromYcontamination bythe fingers of other users. Gther objects, advantagesand features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawingfthelsubjoined detailedy description and the appended claims.` l

The improvementin the art, and the newly invented means for performingthe same may he understood from the accompanying drawing.

this improvement `in- 'dispensing toothpicks. Fig. 21s a perspectiveview of the newly invented dispenser adapted to this art; showing `anupright position of the dispensing means shown in Fig. 1. Y l, Y Fig. 3is an axialsection ofthe dispenser shown inV Figs.- 1 and 2, whileupright.- A

bundle of toothpicks is shown in place.

Fig. 4 is an end view of thedispenser shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3.

The container in the form shown, is made of glass, open at the top andvbeing formed with. a neck`2, the interior wall 2 of which is suchcontraction, the lower end Aof the container is outwardly bulged at 4".The base of the container is concaved at 4 and a screw threaded head orclosure 5, is adapted Figure l is a perspective View illustrating l tobe screwed u pon thel threaded portion 3 of the neck and isprovidedpreferably with round perforations 6 of suiicient diameter to allow thetoothpicks' to be projected therethrough and to beidrawntherethroughfrom a bundle of toothpicks 8 inthecon-N tainer.

The container and head may be rot any` Figs. 1,2 and 3.

In practice a loose bundle 8 of toothpicks will' befinserted into thercontainer and the head 'will 'thenvbe secured in place. Thetofothpiclts resultant o f the outwardly ybulged upper andlowerfportions, will lbe disposed asllant, withtheirfopposite endspositioned within the upper! and lower concavities farmed by thefbulgedportions 4( and a", wliile'ftheV picks at the center ofthe bundle 8,Will'restiipon the concave portion 44' of they base, 'effecting arelatively spiral assembly of the y'picks *within :the said container.The operator; graspingfthe container, will give'"'ita` forward'movement,preferably in horizontal or in `a more or rless inverted position ofthecontainer, thus giving allotthe tothpicls a substantially semi-rotativemomentum, tendingtol Vproject the bundle of toothpifc'lisv intoengagement with the straight wall 2"-of'the` necli'and the greatermajority of the toothpicks will be intercepted by such neck'wa'll Qfalimited'number of toothpicks willfbe Adirected through the round headperf forations;A and 'by reason of the mutualfricf' tion of thetoothpicks in the loose bundle, oneupon another, and also the frictionYof eachftoothpick Von, the margin of the hole 'through which ithas'jbeen projected, such to'otlipil Willbe retained `in position toA begraspedfbythefiree hand/vof the operator, or by any person whoifnaytakel hold'of 'the "same to draw Yit from ythe dispenser.

Itis understood, that'the illustration. in

tiny:V handat Los Angeles,

tainer by a sliding lit producing sufficient i friction to` hold thehead in place against the impact of the bundle of toothpicks:

It is'also understood'that the invention may beuse'd for dispensingmatches-or liker` rl. A toothpick dispenser consis-tingot ad containeropen at one endand contracted be.-

tween its ends -andprovided atthe open end'- with a head having one ormore roundiper forations adapted to permitAv atoothpick beV dra wnYtherethrough the` .contractedlpors tion of the container being adapted.toallgwl the toothpicls in the container vto standfaslantonfendinspiral lines, and said contracted portion-alsoserving .to form a.hand-hold for thc purpose of holding the containerLwhile giving it'-momentum andalso while stopping itsuddenly to causeone ormore.toothpicks` ofa bundle of toothpicks contained lin .the

' container to be projected by semi-rotative rne-` men-tuin through. thehead so-as to be in pesi.;L

tion to be. grasped by one desiringgftoV be servedlwith a toothpick.-

2. A-toothpiclr dispensercomprising aref. ceptaele having an lopen neckportionand be?. ing" medi-ally contracted to. tormoutwardly bulged'upperand lower portions, said-'neck beingprovided with: Aa straightinterionwall, a perforated` :cover adapted-for co-nnectionvte said neck,the outwardly bulged portions-otl saidreceptacle.y forming,rdiametrically4 d isposedl concavities `adapted. .to receivelthefop`positeends of a number of the.toothpicks,and means for singly;4delivering toothpiclis through the i cover Ip erforationswvhen the .saidreceptacle is thrust endwisefand-` suddenly In .testimonywhereoi I have.hereuntofvset California;` this 4th-dayfot`` September, 'l925.= Y

MARK; innemen.A y

